phosphate

Etymology

It is borrowed from French phosphate,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a word that the OED finds in Guyton de Morveau in 1782;^[2] Etymonline dates the French word to 1787.^[4] It is formed from phosphore (“phosphorus”) and the chemical suffix -ate,^[4][3][5][7] the same as English -ate.^[8][9] Merriam-Webster derives it instead from phosphorique (“phosphoric”), in acide phosphorique (“phosphoric acid”).^[10] The French name of the element comes from Latin phōsphorus (“the morning star”), from Ancient Greek φωσφόρος (phōsphóros, “light-bringing; the morning star”),^[2][4] formed from φῶς (phôs, “light”) and -φόρος (-phóros, “bearing”).^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In chemistry, a salt of phosphoric acid: 1788, in an English translation of Guyton de Morveau and others.^[2][11][10] Barnhart and Etymonline give 1795.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The word came into English with the new chemical names of the French chemists, from Guyton de Morveau's work.^[2] Phosphates of calcium and other metals in minerals and in plants were named from 1849.^[11][2] In North America, from 1885, a phosphate was also a soda-fountain drink of carbonated water, syrup and a little phosphoric acid, now chiefly historical.^[2][8][9] The plural came to be used of chemical fertilizers containing phosphorus.^[6][8] The verb, to treat with a phosphate, is recorded from 1897.^[2][11]

Timeline

• 1782 – French phosphate, in Guyton de Morveau.^[2]
• 1788 – a salt or ester of phosphoric acid.^[2][11][10]
• 1849 – a named phosphate mineral or compound.^[11]
• 1885 – North American: a carbonated soft drink.^[2][11]
• 1897 – verb, to treat with a phosphate.^[2][11]

Meanings

Noun

1. In chemistry, a salt or ester of a phosphoric acid, or the anion derived from it.^{[8][10][6][2]}
2. A fertilizer containing compounds of phosphorus, often in the plural.^[8][6]
3. (chiefly US, historical) A soda fountain drink of carbonated water, flavoured syrup and a little phosphoric acid.^[8][2][9]

Verb

1. To treat with a phosphate or with phosphoric acid, as in coating iron.^[10][2]

Word family

• phosphatic

Related words

• phosphorus
• phosphor
• phosphoric

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ a b c d e f g Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)